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Brian Morris (1966–Present), also known as NEYE or NAI SIRROM, is a photographer and fine artist.
Early Life & Education
Brian Morris was born in 1966 in Huntsville, Alabama. A NASA family, the Morris’ made their way from Huntsville to the space coast of Florida, and then to Northern California, where his father was an engineer at IBM during the start of the Bay Area tech-boom in the 1970s.
He grew up running down halls of rocket ships, the lunar lander, and the images of earth from the moon hanging on the walls; inspiring dreams and drawings of fast machines and time travel. He graduated from Santa Teresa High School in 1984 at 17, ready to discover the path to art greatness with his brother’s Nikon film camera in hand.
His parents were not very supportive of a life of painting, but thought that design and architectural drawing along with photography, might be a better choice. To help balance his and their desires, Morris decided to dig in deeper by enrolling in Saratoga Community College and received an Associates in Fine Arts in 1987.
Morris also completed seven years of full-time course work in Graphic Design, Illustration, and Anthropology from 1987 to 1995 at San Jose State University and received a Certification Training in Phase One Digitech from Phase One in Los Angeles, CA in 2012.
Career
In 1999, Morris entered the entertainment world as a digital audiovisual (AV) technician in Lake Tahoe, CA. While in Lake Tahoe, Morris studied people, food, engagement, service, communication, art, technology while he fine tuned his photography skills. In 2009, Morris moved to Los Angeles, CA to begin his commercial photography and fine art career.
Inspiration
Morris’ love of the ocean led him to spend decades as a waterman, learning how to take the beating of life by waves of consequence. His life lessons into his relationships to community, business, and the study of multiple industry practices as resources to his future work.
Growing up in the mixed culture society of the Bay Area, Morris found himself continually inspired by female energy and the view from a man watching a movement that is to this day an important part of his work. He was no stranger to the LGBTQ+ community, and considered himself, “a hetero in a fantastical and beautiful world of inclusivity.”
As a boy, Morris was fascinated by girls, who he saw as magical creatures, different from his destructive, male friends who wanted to break the world with skateboards, paint cans, music and violence. All of these things would steer Morris to his path as NEYE.
Work
Professional
Morris works for Mark McIntyre Photography (2013-present) as a lighting designer and photographer’s assistant for Honda Motorcycles and for Sebastien Micke Photography (2012-present) as a lighting designer and post production for Paris Match Magazine. He’s worked with celebrities including Mark Hamill, Anthony Hopkins, Al Pacino, Salma Hayek, and Nicole Kidman, and fashion brands including Louis Vuitton, Vogue, BVLGARI, and Tommy Hilfiger. Morris has also worked in outdoor action and professional sport photography, shooting the Vans US Open, and events for Red Bull, Monster, Libtech, The North Face, and Hurley Pro.
Categories
- Painting
- Sculpting
- Photography
- Outdoor Action & Professional Sports: surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, wakeboarding, beach volleyball
- Music: concerts, festivals
Shows
- West Valley community arts group shows
- San Jose State group shows
- Campbell Coffee and Feed (1994)
- Tahoe City, CA - Yama Sushi (2004)
- Truckee, CA - Burger ME (2008)
- Zenbu Restaurant - Squaw Valley (2009)
- Taylor Will Taylor Studio Long Beach, CA (2011)
Projects
Morris has organized his work based on location and life experience.
- NorCal (1970-2000)
- Focus: School, art, science of water, business, women, family, fun, discovery, failures, regret, betrayal, upheaval, and movement.
- Lake Tahoe (2000-2010)
- Focus: science, film, professional winter sports, hospitality, government, survival and suffering. People, community, experimentation and burning-man, economic crash, upheaval, and movement.
- Los Angeles (2010-Present)
- Focus: change, family, suffering, art, photography, women's studies, professional networks, creative studies, art masters, celebrities, world leaders, movies, production, covid ,death and creativity, and continued upheaval.
Awards
- Art Provocateur’s “10 of America’s Best Erotic Photographers” of 2020 (Listed as Nai Sirrom)
References
- Art Provocateur’s “10 of America’s Best Erotic Photographers” of 2020 (Listed as Nai Sirrom)